Wallace Chapman previews tonight's instalment of The Panel.

An extra half hour of The Panel with Wallace Chapman, where to begin, he's joined by Nights host Emile Donovan. Then: our cities have no shortage of soil, from sports fields to berms lining most streets. But infrastructure works are compacting the soil to the point where it can't act like the sponge it should be in flooding events. Water design expert Sue Ira digs into the issue.

In part two, is it a pond or a pool? Motueka lodge owners battled with the council for years over a small body of water that has frogs and tadpoles in it. Then, rainy days in Invercargill have just got better with a spruce up of the local bowling alley, Retrobowl. The panel catches up with owner Angela Caughey.

Tonight, on The is joined by panellists Aimie Hines and Richard Pamatatau. First up, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters turned heads over the weekend by announcing that New Zealand would not yet recognise a Palestinian state. He told the UN General Assembly such a move would be used by Hamas as a bargianing chip. The panel hears reaction from Maher Nazzal, co-chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. Then, rules measuring the risk of earthquake damage to buildings will be relaxed, as announced by the government today. Property Council chief executive Leonie Freeman says it will save building owners billions.

Jesse is joined by The Panel host Wallace Chapman and producer José Barbosa to preview this evening's show.

In part two, Winston peetrs will reveal to the world at the UN if New Zealand will formally recognise Palestine. Why the stringing out of the decision? Is it all political theatre? And what impact will it have? Then, Panel listener Dave responded to our call for great travel stories and he has a doozy about cycling the Karakorum highway.

First up, migrant bus drivers say English language test for the skilled residence visa are completely unrealistic, leading many to fork out large sums for testing or even considering heading back home. Then, it's been confirmed the National MP Carl Bates is under formal investigation for failing to declare 25 properties linked to him and his family to parliament's register of pecuniary interests. It's a story that has gone a little under the radar this week, but commentator Byrce Edwards says parliament is too slack in dealing with MPs interests and she should be paying more attention.

Emile Donovan and producer Tessa Guest preview this evening's show.

An extra half hour of The Panel with Emile Donovan, where to begin, he's joined by Nights host Mark Leishman. Then: why is Northland such a hub for banana growers? Emile talks to a boutique banana grower to learn the secrets of growing commercial bananas.

In part two, a foundation is providing what it thinks is the solution to the severe lack of coaches and volunteers in community sport. Then, Garden Place Must Evolve is the name of an event taking place in Hamilton tonight. The topic? what to do with the central city's most obvious eyesore.